The North Pacific Fishery Management Council sets fishing regulations for Alaska waters, managing pollock, sablefish, crab and other fisheries through rules.
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Austin Esterbrooks
“Giving you a brief look at the halibut performance of the fleet last year relative to the longer-term trends, again, it was the, the third best year and I attribute this mostly to, again, the health of the pollock stock and reduced time fishing generally equates to lower bycatch.”NPFMC 279 Day 2 - June 5, 2026 · Jun 5, 2026
Austin Esterbrooks
“this is typically due to temperature regimes in the Bering Sea. We typically see a lot more Chinook move up onto the shelf and overlap with the pollock distributions when temperatures are warmer. And this held true in 2025, particularly in the A season. There were a lot more Chinook up on the shelf overlapping with the fishery.”NPFMC 279 Day 2 - June 5, 2026 · Jun 5, 2026
Austin Esterbrooks
“there were no violations of any of the IPA bycatch avoidance rules or fishing prohibitions in 2025.”NPFMC 279 Day 2 - June 5, 2026 · Jun 5, 2026
Austin Esterbrooks
“In terms of the historical Chinook salmon bycatch, 2025 wasn't as good as 2024.”NPFMC 279 Day 2 - June 5, 2026 · Jun 5, 2026
Austin Esterbrooks
“obviously 2018-19 were some of the lower, lower sea ice years on record in the Bering Sea. So, um, 2018, you don't see the effect yet, but 2019 and 2020, there was definitely sort of a lagged effect there in terms of the bycatch.”NPFMC 279 Day 2 - June 5, 2026 · Jun 5, 2026
Austin Esterbrooks
“we had 9 chum bycatch avoidance areas that were identified in 2025 across the B season.”NPFMC 279 Day 2 - June 5, 2026 · Jun 5, 2026
The panels that shape Alaska's pollock and cod catch limits meet next month
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has scheduled its Groundfish Plan Teams for a hybrid public meeting Sept. 8-11, 2026. The agenda centers on scientific and management reviews rather than a council vote, with online access through the NPFMC meetings portal.
by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska's Board of Fisheries ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto beach seines their permits don't authorize, deepening a years-long wind-down as drift rules stay unchanged.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
NMFS proposes removing economic data reporting requirements for BSAI trawl and crab programs
NOAA Fisheries has published a notice of availability for proposed amendments that would eliminate Economic Data Reports for Alaska's Amendment 80 trawl catcher/processor fleet and Bering Sea crab harvesters, citing high costs and limited management use. A separate proposed rule would follow, and public comments must be received by September 15, 2026.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A halibut-bycatch report is dropped for the Bering Sea's biggest bycatch fleet
A federal notice folds away a separate halibut-bycatch report on the Amendment 80 trawl fleet, which accounts for most Bering Sea halibut bycatch, amid a long accountability fight.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Regulators shift unused halibut allowance to Bering Sea trawlers
NMFS reapportioned 100 metric tons of unused halibut bycatch allowance from the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative Program to the trawl limited access catcher vessel C season, raising that sector's cap from 15 to 115 metric tons through Nov. 1, with no public comment.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
The council that runs Alaska's fisheries has no tribal vote
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has no designated tribal seat, and Alaska Native tribes are pressing for voting power over decisions affecting subsistence salmon.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
NOAA scouts new fish-farm zones as Gulf of Alaska planning proceeds
NOAA opened public comment through Sept. 13 on where to site the next Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. The Gulf of Alaska is already in a separate NOAA planning process.
by Alaska News2w ago1 min readAI
Bering Sea cod trawl fee drops to 2.09% after fishery value jumps
NMFS set the 2026 Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program cost recovery fee at 2.09 percent, down from the 3 percent statutory maximum charged in 2025. Cooperatives that miss the Aug. 31 payment deadline lose quota transfer approval and next year's CQ permits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Bering Sea crab fee drops by half, but the itemization fight remains
The federal cost-recovery fee on Bering Sea crab fell to 0.67% as fishery value rose, but harvesters still can't get an itemized accounting of the enforcement costs they pay.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Council votes 8-3 to study halibut bycatch rules for Golden Fleece replacement vessel
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted 8-3 on Tuesday to initiate a regulatory analysis that could require an Amendment 80 replacement vessel in the Gulf of Alaska to follow the same halibut bycatch limits and monitoring standards as other non-pelagic trawl catcher processors, prompted by news that the Golden Fleece's unique 2007 exemptions could transfer to a different vessel at a time of historically low halibut abundance.
by Alaska Newsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Council sends Kodiak Tanner crab closure to second initial review with preliminary preferred alternative
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted without objection Sunday to send Gulf of Alaska Tanner crab protection measures to a second initial review, selecting a preliminary preferred alternative of non-pelagic trawl closure in the east-side custom box while retaining a narrowed version of Alternative 3 covering existing closure areas.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago4 min readAI
Pollock fleet asked to repeat voluntary crab closures in 2027 after proof-of-concept season
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed a motion without objection on June 8 requesting the pollock industry continue dynamic spatial closures in the Red King Crab Savings Area during the 2027 A season, with salmon bycatch avoidance remaining the highest priority. Industry representatives reported the 2026 proof-of-concept produced zero crab bycatch in the catcher-processor and mothership fleets, and 25 animals in the inshore sector, though extensive sea ice significantly altered fishing dynamics.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
North Pacific council directs Ecosystem Committee to revise 2004 groundfish policy goals
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted unanimously Tuesday to declare its triennial groundfish policy review complete and directed the Ecosystem Committee to develop specific language changes before any formal FMP amendment begins, focusing on two goals written in 2004 that no longer reflect current council practice.
by Alaska Newsadded 1mo ago3 min readAINorth Pacific council moves toward enforceable pelagic trawl gear standards
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted without objection to request a discussion paper on enforceable performance standards for pelagic trawl gear bottom contact. The council also separately requested the pollock industry continue voluntary dynamic spatial crab-avoidance measures in the 2027 A season.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago3 min readAISablefish fleet faces compliance gap as approved release rule sits in federal limbo until 2028
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council approved a small sablefish release rule in April 2025, but NMFS implementation is not expected until 2028, leaving vessels subject to fines if they release small sablefish under current rules. Industry asked the council to seek NMFS assistance to advance implementation to the 2027 season.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
North Pacific council demands OLE justify enforcement fees billed to Alaska catch-share programs
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed motions Friday requiring NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement to document each investigation billed to Alaska's catch-share programs by regulation, hours, and apportionment formula, responding to years of industry complaints that OLE charges exceed the legal incremental-cost standard under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Pollock fleet builds empirical database of trawl seafloor contact as Congress weighs gear restrictions
Alaska Pacific University's Gear Innovation Initiative has documented nearly 300 trawls, building an evidence base for how pelagic trawl gear behaves near the seafloor. Updated gear parameters are scheduled for Scientific and Statistical Committee review in February 2027, alongside a Trident Seafoods modified foot-rope design tested under an exempted fishing permit.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAIPollock fleet's groundfish bycatch fell below 1% in 2025, but salmon bycatch rose as warm water pushed fish onto the shelf
The Bering Sea pollock fleet posted a groundfish bycatch ratio below 1 percent in 2025, well under the 1.7 percent long-term average, but Chinook and chum salmon bycatch both rose compared to 2024 as record-low sea ice pushed salmon distributions onto the shelf and into direct overlap with the fishery, Austin Esterbrooks told the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on Friday.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
NPFMC directs NOAA to update pollock roe rules after seizure highlighted regulatory gap
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed two motions directing NOAA Fisheries to update product recovery rate regulations that no longer match how AFA catcher-processors and motherships measure catch, and to clarify rules governing prohibited species catch disposition, including whether bycatch can be converted to fishmeal.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI